A Different Alphabet
by emzypemzy
Summary: What if Penelope Garcia wasn't in the FBI, what if she worked for another alphabet who wanted to know everything there is to know about the BAU and what if she'd already met one of the team?
1. Chapter 1

**This one's AU. I borrowed the 'CSA' from Jane Doe films but I am merely using the initials, nothing else.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own CM.**

**Chapter 1: **

It was early, still dark out, and the only light in the room came from the orange glow of the street lamp next to the small window and the many computer screens lining the desks. A blonde, 30-something woman in colourful clothes sat hunched over one of the screens. Her red lacquered nails typing furiously as her eyes, rimmed by red glasses, followed the seeming gibberish on the screen. But it wasn't gibberish, it was the world's most sophisticated code, computer code that is. It was anything but gibberish. Those endless streams of numbers, letters and symbols creating the most advanced security system know to exist. And even then only a very select few even knew of its existence: Her and her parents, and her parents had died with the secret still unshed from their lips.

She'd been developing it since she had first taught herself code, and now, finally, it was complete, finally it could be of use.

The shrill ringing of the telephone interrupted her concentration. Cursing under her breath she connected the call to her wireless headset, knowing who it was going to be.

"Garcia." She said into the headset, waiting to hear the familiar voice of Robert Howard, the man of the minute CSA agent who was always the one to call her with their boss' requests.

"Agent Garcia." He greeted in his deep voice that sounded a lot younger than he actually was. "You're needed to look into some _secure_ files. Order comes from the Big Man." He said, alluding to her boss, Jim Branagan, who was more commonly known as 'Big Man' due to his large stature and his even larger ego.

"Names." Was all she said in reply, rolling her eyes; who else was going to be telling her to research people, not Postman Pat anyways. Her hands were poised over the keyboard ready when the names sounded in her ear.

"Aaron Hotchner, Jennifer Jareau, Emily Prentiss, Derek Morgan, David Rossi, Spencer Reid and Alicia Baxter, all of the B.A.U." He said, pausing for a second between the names, not that Garcia needed it; she was a furious typer.

"As in FBI?" She asked, curious, her expertly shaped eyebrow rising as she did so.

"The very same." He replied and she could hear the smile in his voice as he asked: "Can you do it?"

"Can I do it?!" She parroted. "Did Michael Jackson have plastic surgery?! Of course I can do it." She said before disconnecting leaving Howard smiling into the telephone thinking: if only I was ten years younger.

After typing all of the names into every search engine she possessed she sat back and watched as her screen filled up with countless newspaper articles and even book references. She was surprised, these people were either _really_ good or really bad, and she suspected it was the former.

As she watched the number of files on the group grow her mind wandered to yesterday at about this time. She had been sitting in the coffee shop a block from her apartment, already halfway through her first cup of the day when she saw the familiar figure jogging towards the café. Every morning she sat in the same seat, and every morning he ran this way, either stopping in for a quick breather or continuing on, smiling at the occupants of the window booths, and she was always sitting at the window. He was beautiful. That was the only word truly able to describe him, he was gorgeous, a hunk o' burning love, he looked like someone straight out of one of those chick books she liked to read, she could go on all day. He had well defined muscles, chocolate skin that looked good enough to taste; soft brown eyes that contradicted his tough guy look from the shaved head. He worked it though, very well. Yesterday he'd come in to get some water, sweat clinging to his body, and she'd wanted to talk to him, to hear the tones of his voice, to know him. She was drawn to him, she'd laughed at the thought, realising that she had herself a little bit of a crush on the Chocolate God.

He had bought a bottle of water, and as he gulped from it hungrily she watched, transfixed, as his tongue snaked out and reclaimed a droplet that had escaped from his lips. She tore her eyes from his almost irresistible form and focused on the sudoku in front of her, trying not to watch his retreating form as he left. She failed miserably, but she was glad she did when he seemed to sense someone watching him and turned around, meeting her eyes with a smile. My God he had a great smile. It was one of those smiles that made you feel great about yourself, as if he had every confidence in you, and he hadn't even said two words to her.

She had watched his running form get smaller and smaller as he headed onwards, while in her mind telling herself she was going to talk to him the next day.

And here it was, the next day, and she was stuck in her study (or lair as Howard had dubbed it) while he was probably on his way to the coffee shop. She wasn't going to get to talk to him today it seemed, and she felt her stomach fall at the thought. Then she smiled, realising that this search was going to take a lot longer than expected, so she might as well leave it and go and get her morning cuppa joe.

She was nearing the coffee shop when she began to doubt whether she would be able to talk to him. She could hack into any network, at any time and here she was worrying about saying 'hello' to a cute guy. She shouldn't even _be _nervous, or at least that's what she tried to convince herself of. But computers and men are completely different things; and computers were her forte, me were – unfortunately –not.

Just as she was reaching for the door handle she heard steady footfalls behind her and she smiled when the very man she'd been thinking about seeing opened the door for her with a smile and a greeting of hello. She thanked him before heading inside and joining the queue, and when he joined behind her she thought she had her perfect chance to talk to him, but she'd have to talk soon as the queue wasn't that long.

"Do you go by here every morning or is it just since I started coming?" She turned to him and asked, her voice full of tease and a smile gracing her red painted lips. He chuckled slightly at her question.

"Every morning," He replied. "Well every morning since the beginning of this month." He added, essentially suggesting that he'd come every day since she had been here as she only moved into her new place about a month ago.

"Well, you do know the right words to say to a lady." She said with a laugh, before turning to the cashier who had just asked what she wanted.

"Large one of you're 'Special Blend' please Daisy." She said with a smile to the familiar cashier.

"I was going to ask if I could buy you a cup of coffee but…" He said to her and she turned back to see him scratching the back of his neck as if nervous.

"Well, since I now have mine." She said, taking her cup from Daisy and handing her the money. "You can grace me with your company instead." She smiled as he nodded his head in agreement and smiled.

"That sounds like a fair deal." He said before ordering a cup of black coffee and a bottle of water for himself.

She took a seat at her usual booth, smiling as he walked over and joined her. This was her new lucky day, she thought to herself; screw that horoscope that said it was a bad time for taking chances.

His name was Derek, he liked football, running, old comedy shows and he was an amateur property developer around his day job was in law enforcement. And he was really fun: easy to talk to, had great comebacks to her teasing comments and was really funny. This added to the fact that he was gorgeous made him one delectable package.

She was telling him an anecdote about her boss and his huge ego, her face lighting up as he laughed a deep laugh that seemed to cause the air to vibrate around her. 'Even his _laugh _is sexy.' She thought to herself, counting her lucky stars that a man as amazing as this had even spoken to her. Her horoscope had been wrong.

Unfortunately his phone began to ring and he picked it up, excusing himself to take it. When he came back to the table with a apologetic smile she knew he had to go.

"I had a really good time, but...you know…duty calls." He said, smiling at her.

"No problem." She said, hesitating to say anything else.

"Same time tomorrow?" He asked as he walked away from the table, looking back at her.

"Sure." She said with a smile as he waved goodbye and sped of the way he had came.

Sitting alone at the table she drained the last of the coffee from her cup and headed back to her apartment, ready to finish what she had started earlier.

**What'd you think?**

**Note: As said in previous stories...I am going on holiday from the 16th till the 23rd so updates for this may not be for a while...**


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter's a little bit short, but hey it's still a chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own CM.**

Upon making it back to her apartment, she went straight to her 'lair' to start compiling all of the information gathered from the many searches. What she saw surprised her, the searches had yielded many results from newspapers from all over the country: these guys were very good at their jobs, the crème-de-la-crème it seemed. She clicked up the most recent picture taken at a crime scene in Richmond and she stared slack-jawed at her screen as the image appeared in front of her: the Chocolate God from the coffee shop was Derek Morgan! The very same Derek Morgan that she was looking into. She drew in a sharp breath: this was not good, not good at all. She'd liked him, really liked him, and sure maybe he'd only seen her as a quirky blonde woman who looked like she was lonely but he had suggested the same thing for the next day. She chewed softly on her lip, wondering just what she was supposed to do now, could she go see him again? Not really. Did she want to? Most definitely. Would she? She was torn between her job and a guy she had only just met.

Ignoring the battle going on in her head she pulled up all of the public files on the whole team and began sorting through it all, highlighting important information before sending it all along to Branagan. Her phone was ringing not two seconds later:

"We need more detail Agent Garcia. Everything you can find, do whatever you have to do, we need _everything._" His gruff voice commanded.

'I can tell you how one of them likes their coffee, but that may be too much detail.' She thought to herself, but holding her tongue and replying with a short: "Yes, sir."

When the dial tone sounded in her ear she disconnected, getting back to her searches while ignoring a nagging feeling that something odd was a-foot here. They all seemed squeaky clean and she wondered just why her boss needed the information and what he was going to use it for. However, she also knew that everyone had secrets, stains on their seemingly 'perfect' files, and she knew how to find them, it was her job. And she was damn good at it.

After applying some more advanced searching techniques and yielding nothing different she knew what she had to do: she had to hack into their system. She smiled; maybe this would be even a little challenging for her, something to get her blood up. She stretched her fingers, before wiggling them and setting her fingers to work.

Within about ten minutes she was in their system and slightly disappointed by the weak challenge their security had posed. She set about finding the information she needed, searching through file after file on them, looking for anything and everything to pass on. It was when a wiped record of SSA Derek Morgan, and none other than the delicious morning runner, appeared on her screen that she paused slightly: was this _right_? Was this the right thing to do? She felt like she was betraying him, and she had only met him the once.

'It may not be _right_ but it's your job.' she heard Howard's familiar mantra sounding in her head. She sighed before getting to work again, opening the previously expunged record of the man who was ocupying her thoughts. Her brow furrowed as she read of the many petty crimes he was convicted of, but when she read the name of the person who had gotten him expunged she inhaled sharply: Carl Buford. If she was not mistaken that name had come up in one of the newspaper clippings from a year or so ago, and it wasn't for good reasons.

Taking note of all the information on his juvi record she then found the article she had remembered. It's headline read: LOCAL HERO CHILD MOLESTOR?

Her eyes widened as she mentally made the connection and she wondered once again why she was having to do this digging and just what her boss was planning on doing with the information.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at the BAU offices Agent Morgan was just heading towards the bull pen when he heard the distinct yelling of Alicia Baxter, their new Technical Analyst.

"No! No! No!" Alicia screamed desperately at her computers and Morgan looked like she was about ready to start pulling her hair out. "Who the hell is doing this to me?!"

"What's wrong Licy?" He asked with urgency as he entered the room on a run.

Shaking her auburn bangs from her face she turned to him with a defeated look on her face before saying: "Someone's been in my system. I don't know who, I don't know why, and I don't know how. But I _do _know that I'm going to nail this SOB." Her anger evident in her voice.

"Can I do anything to help?" He asked, worry obvious from his voice, as she began to type furiously at the keyboard once more.

"Get Hotch." Was her only request, although it was more of a demand.

When Hotch entered the room Alicia could tell that he was worried, angry too but worry dominated his features.

"What happened?" He asked, his voice hard as he tried to stop the worry and anger from creeping into his voice.

"Someone got in. I don't know how and I don't like it." She said, her voice tense.

"Find out what they were looking at, what they copied, deleted, added. I want to know exactly what they did when they got into the system and I want you to find them." He commanded, leaving a frazzled Alicia Baxter to do her job. She was good - he had faith in her.

**What'd you think?**


	3. Chapter 3

_So this is_ _the third re-write of this chapter , once on paper, once at the library where the computer swallowed my file just as I was about to upload it, and now you have the newest one._

_Disclaimer: I don't own CM._

She was reeling slightly from the pieces of information her brain had just pieced together and she felt her stomach roll at the thought of the gorgeous Derek Morgan being so helpless as a child. When she pulled up records about his family she saw something else that made her heart go out to him: his dad died in a hold up, and he was with him. It then hit home once more that no matter how many times she had to watch horrendous videos from crime scenes or listen to a killer's voice talk of his unspeakable deeds she would never, ever, get used to it. It may have been part of her job, but it was the part that she dreaded.

Upon finding this new information she knew that surely there would be some more about the others and so put her personal feelings to the side, blinking twice before setting her fingers to work once more in the hope of discovering more. Well, not really hope per say, more of a work related wish.

Her further digging yielded very little that she couldn't have figured out, but she compiled a list of it all anyway. Everything placed meticulously under headings and every little detail, no matter how trivial recorded. There were only a few things that jumped out:

Dr Spencer Reid had had a drug problem after his release from Tobias. His mother was a diagnosed schizophrenic who lived in a home in New York and she didn't always know who he was.

SSA Derek Morgan was abused as a child, lost his father at a young age but still had his mum and two sister's who live in Chicago. He owned a handful of properties that he was renovating to sell on. He was a bit of a player.

Media Liaison Jennifer Jareau was married to a cop and had a son, Henry. She loved her job and her family life but was struggling to find the balance between the two.

SSA Emily Prentiss was one of the newer members of the team but now felt like a part of it. She felt guilty about her friend's death by exorcism and felt it was somehow her fault.

The team leader, Aaron Hotchner, was a divorced father of one, a son, Jack. He was fighting for a larger role in his son's life and wished cases didn't take him so far away so often. He felt responsible for any and all problems – no matter how minor or major – which befell the team.

SSA David Rossi was a veteran who felt that his books may have done more harm than good in the world and was still haunted by unsolved cases from his rookie days. He was a solitary man who had let his team mates into his life.

TA Alicia Baxter was good at her job, was on a watch list for her 'skills', but she had much to learn still. She was haunted by horrific nightmares from the things she had to sort through and was seeing a therapist, a Dr. Rachel Laurient.

There were no strange withdrawals or payments from their bank accounts, no hidden accounts, no aliases, nothing. This fact prompted her to once again wonder why on earth she was investigating these agents and just what the information would be used for. Once again she shook the thoughts from her mind, reminding herself that it was her job and she would do it, and do it well. She finished typing up her findings and e-mailed them to Branagan.

Once again her phone was ringing less than a minute later.

"Good work Agent Garcia but I still need you to keep digging, the more we know the better." Came her boss' voice in her ear.

"Yes sir, but can I ask why I'm looking into this, they're all clean so far and-" She bit her lip nervously when he interrupted her with a slight cough, worried that he was going to chew her out for asking.

"All you need to know is that we need that information." He said, his voice cold and harsh.

"But sir, they are all highly decorated agents, what possible-" He cut her off again and she realised that she may have gone too far and had let her confusion and inner turmoil over 'betraying' Derek Morgan interfere with her work.

"Garcia." He said in his classic warning tone before continuing, "we need this information. That is all you need to know. Do not push me."

"Yes sir." She conceded before the dial tone sounded in her ear. "Jackass." She muttered under her breath, letting a little of her frustration seep out of her body as she thought of all the ways she could make him disappear.

She let out a sigh and began digging further into the lives of agents who she, unbeknownst to her, would be meeting in a few days time.

* * *

Alicia Baxter was seething. Her blood was boiling as she chased the hacker's activity through the system and found out just what they were looking at: each and every member of the team's medical files, case write ups, personnel files, any complaints filed against them, performance reviews, everything related to them. With her anger fuelling her fingers, she furiously tried to follow the hacker's trail, but after half an hour of following it to dead end after dead end she exhaled noisily and made the call she had been dreading.

Not even ten minutes later she was standing outside the conference room trying to calm herself down enough to get through this conversation. She took one last breath in before she turned the door handle and walked into the room. Immediately, 6 curious and worried faces looked to her for answers and she had to look away, her gaze falling to the floor as she filled them in on what she had found.

She chanced a look up at their expectant faces, each one asking her one question: who? And that was one question she could not find the answer too, and it made her feel so helpless for the first time in her adult life.

"Whoever they are, they are good, _really_ good." Was all the explanation she could give them, and she hung her head in desolation.

Morgan let out a ragged breath and was the first to break the silence that had descended on the room. "At least we know what hey were looking at now, are you sure you can't track them?" He implored softly, knowing how upset she really was.

"It just keeps taking me in circles and I don't understand how they got in, we have the most advanced protection we can get our hands on plus some of my own added just to be sure."

"Alicia," Hotch spoke up, "I want you to keep trying to find this hacker, keep trying and I want you to update our system."

"I can't sir, there isn't anything better, but I can try to beef up my own to make it stronger." She said with a little of her usual hope entering her voice once more.

"Wait a minute, if this is the most advanced protection available then that tells us something, it-" Morgan began before being interrupted by Emily who had obviously been thinking along the same lines as him.

"Then it tells us that either they worked on making this programme or that they _must_ be on a watchlist at least, if not in the process of being recruited…" She trailed off and Hotch jumped in, giving orders for everyone to talk to their contacts in other agencies to see if there is anyone who they should take a look at, and he asked Alicia to also look into those who were involved in making the programme.

"I will sir, but there was a large pool of techs who worked on it, but I'll start now." She said, turning quickly and leaving the room, glad to be away from the stifling air full of unanswered questions.

Hotch warned the rest to stay on high alert and to always carry their weapon with them, as well as asking them all to come up with possible theories about who could be looking into them an why.

When everyone left to do their respective tasks, Hotch sagged into his desk chair with a sigh as he let his head fall into his hands. He hated feeling helpless, and this was no exception. He wished he knew who was doing this and why, and couldn't help but feel that it was all a part of some bigger picture that he had failed to see.

* * *

_what'd you think?_

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: I don't own CM._

Morgan sagged into his chair with a sigh, his mind playing out many ideas as to who the hacker was and why they could be under surveillance. He pulled up his latest unfinished case file and began to fill in the unfinished play by play of the final arrest to try to keep his mind occupied.

This task however proved fruitless when JJ, Emily and Reid began to discuss their worries about the hacker, and he silently added his own thoughts to the mix. He couldn't help but worry, and the feeling that there was more to this than just a plain old hacking job was planted firmly in his gut. It worried him, and he hated the thought that someone out there had all of his and the teams' personal details, that someone they didn't know was watching them, researching them, and all for some unknown purpose. It chilled him to the bone.

The team was like extended family to him, the only others beside his mum and sisters who he trusted implicitly. He did not want them to get hurt; and he'd do everything he could to protect them from harm, but it seemed that this menace was cyber and therefore not something he could fight off with brute strength alone. He was going to need a crash course in code and all things computer related if he was to be of any help, and if he was not mistaken the lovely blonde he'd met at the coffee shop had said she worked with computers. He would knock out two birds with one stone, he'd get to see her and get to know her a bit better and he'd hopefully no longer be completely helpless when it came to cyber space.

It was a win-win situation, all he had to do was meet her again, and he was glad that that morning he had said he see her same place the next day, for more than one reason.

* * *

Garcia was stressed out, she'd spent the whole day continually looking for more information on the BAU team, but nothing else was coming up, and she was still being ordered to find more. They only other way she could think of finding out more was to talk to their friends and family, and she really didn't want to do that, she didn't do things like that and she wasn't about to start now. It was a matter of principle.

* * *

The next morning, after a rather fitful sleep, Garcia was on her way to the coffee shop, a slight frisson of nervousness in her belly as she wondered if he would in fact come and her mind pondered over if what she was doing was particularly ethical. These thoughts were wiped from her mind however when she caught a glimpse of Derek Morgan already sitting in the booth they had shared the previous day, looking deliciously handsome in his 'work clothes'. She smiled at him as she watched him visibly relax when he saw her before replying in kind with a sinful smile of his own.

She entered the shop and he motioned for her to come to the table. She approached the table trying to tell him she needed to buy her coffee when he just pointed to the second mug on the table in front of him. "Hi." He greeted, his deep voice like a sweet melody to her ears.

"Hi." She said, watching him over her coffee cup as she took a drink, savouring the taste of the deliciously strong coffee beans and their intoxicating aroma. From her observations she clocked that he was happy to be there yet there was a slight apprehension behind his eyes as he began to speak.

"I really don't want this to come out the wrong way," He began, running a large hand over his head and her stomach sank; he was blowing her off. "But," he continued. "There is no other way to do this." She tried to swallow the mouthful of coffee through the slight lump in her throat and only just managed to do so without choking. "Think I'll start with what I think I the better part." He exhaled slowly, moving his eyes from hers to a spot on the table in front of her. "Do you fancy meeting for a drink sometime?"

She smiled at his question, he was asking her out! She could hardly believe it. "Sure." She answered before adding, "Now what's this more ominous question you aren't sure how to ask?" she questioned with a soft smile.

"Could you maybe give me a kick start course in computers?" He asked and she could see the tension in his eyes. Her heart almost stopped, what was she supposed to say to that? She could hardly say: 'No, I can't because I know why you want to do this and it's to find me.' No, that wouldn't work. But she could hardly say yes, could she?

"I don't see why not." She replied, her smile feeling a little forced now, but it softened right back up when he looked at her with gratitude in his eyes and smiled at her from under his dark lashes. The man looks so good it must be a sin. She thought to herself as the conversation continued into arranging times and dates for both drinks and computer help. They settled on a quick first computer crash course later that day, with the possibility of drinks after, but if not then drinks the following day.

Garcia left the coffee shop an hour later after having said goodbye to Derek Morgan and walking from the table with an extra swing in her hips knowing he was watching. She clutched a napkin tightly in her hand, not wanting to let it go as her brain processed the information, the good first: Derek Morgan the hottie had just asked her to go for a drink sometime, and had given her his number and his address for the computer course. And the bad: the same as the good. How was she supposed to 'betray' this man when he was quickly making his way into her head and, if she was honest, her heart too?

'I am so screwed.' she thought to herself as she walked towards her apartment, completely unaware that a silver Volvo was following her while it's passenger took note of the conversation she had just had.

* * *

_What'd you think? FYI, next chapter will be longer!_


	5. Chapter 5

_**I know...it's been AGGEEESSS...blame the muse. But I have this planned out now so hopefully it'll be back on track =)**_

She made it to his house that night with no wrong turns and she was more nervous than she should be for just helping with the computers – of course she was, she was the one he was wanting help in finding, she was lying to him, she was betraying him. She shook her head to dispel those thoughts. Get through this and you can crawl back into your bunker and her never needs to know, she thought to herself.

She knocked on the door tentatively, her nerves translating into the softness of the knock, checking her watch once again making sure she wasn't late or early. 19:00 on the dot, on time. He answered quickly and she drew in a breath as he smiled a smile so full it lit up his eyes.

"Hi." She said quietly, smiling herself –his smile was infectious!

"Hey, thanks again for doing this." He said, ushering her into his hallway and directing her to the living room. "Can I get you anything? A drink?"

" No, no, I'm fine thanks, now where's this laptop and I'll show you a thing or two you'll be able to use." She said and smiled up at him from her place on the couch.

"I'll be right back, two seconds." He said, running from the room to grab the laptop and she took the minute or two to collect her thoughts and take a look at his home. It was nice, a bit bland sure but he was a man, and a hot man...wait that had nothing to do with that. He was a man, what did she expect really? Pretty much this actually. What she didn't expect though was the pictures he had on his small fireplace, pictures of 3 women, one older and white who she could definitely see similarities in and two younger ones who she knew from first glance must be his sisters. She smiled at the photo, he was a tough guy on the outside, and maybe a little on the inside too, but he was sweet. He was a family guy. She tore her eyes from the picture as he came back into the room, trying to keep her mind on the task at hand as he handed her the laptop, ready to act her butt off and try to help him while not helping him too.

By the look in his eye she knew he was desperate to do anything to help, absolutely anything, and she knew that she could tell him exactly where to look, exactly what to do – and a part of her wanted to – but she couldn't, she'd be in even deeper than before if she did that. Now was not the time to be putting her life in the hands of a delectable stranger, although she felt she knew him a lot more than she should.

She smiled slightly and began with the basics, telling him the basis of code and making it clear that he would not be able to learn it in an afternoon and go into work and save the day. That she could teach him a few things that would be of use in the future but she couldn't teach him to jump into the deep end and swim without a life jacket.

* * *

After a few hours of trying to teach Morgan the basics he was getting more and more frustrated that he didn't understand; that he couldn't wrap his head around it. She could see the tension in his body as she tried to explain the next part of the process she was trying to teach him and decided that enough was enough, that he was going to overload that gorgeous head of his if he tried to take in any more for today.

"Look, you are going to burn out that gorgeous heads of yours if you try any harder at this, how about we take a break?" She said with concern.

"Ok." He said somewhat reluctantly conceding that she was right. "Do you want anything?" She shook her head. "Anything to eat?" Again she shook her head. "Drink?"

"Now that I could go for." She started and before he could offer her what was in his cupboards she continued. "How about we go for that promised drink now and we can try that another time, yeah?"

"Sure. Sounds like a plan." He said with a small smile at her, grateful for her helping and also for knowing when he wasn't going to take any more in.

"Well you know the places around here, where's good?" She asked, surprised at herself that she'd actually managed to find herself going for drinks with such a smoking hot guy all because of a coffee shop and computers.

* * *

A couple of hours or so and a handful of drinks (a few soft drinks) later, they were laughing and joking away, talking as if they had known each other for years, the rest of the bar completely shut off from their own little world. They were completely oblivious to those looking on in envy of their easy conversation and also to those looking on with curiosity, trying to work out what the conversation was centred on.

They fell out into the night air with loud guffaws of laughter startling those who had stepped out for some air, each appreciating the cooler temperature after the sweltering heat of the bar now that it had become a lot busier. They began walking back to his place on his insistence that she get a cab from there so he knew she would be safely in and she couldn't help but smile at his protectiveness.

"Why, Derek Morgan, if you wanted me to come back all you had to do was say the word sweetness." She teased with a laugh as he, she was almost sure of it, blushed slightly before replying with:

"I keep it PG-13 on the first date."

'date'? Did he just say date, she wondered, her brain screaming that this was not good, that she was leading herself into a whole world of trouble while the teenage girl inside her was squee'ing with joy at his words.

He panicked slightly when he realised what he had just said and that she stilled slightly. He scrambled to recover quickly: "I just would rather I know you're safe. With what I uh- what I see at work I just don't want to take that chance."

"Aw. Is the Big Bad Agent wanting to make sure I get home safe? Make sure that I-" She stopped suddenly seeing the look on his face change suddenly to one much more serious. "What's wrong?" She asked, her voice slightly nervous.

"Come on, we need to walk a bit faster." He said, casually slipping his arm around her shoulders and directing her on their way.

"Morgan, you're scaring me, what is it?" She asked, looking up at him.

" You can't look around, but I think there's a car following us."

" What?" she asked, fear slipping into her voice. Who would be following her? Was Howard having some watch her? Did he follow through on his plan to keep her 'safe' by giving her a personal bodyguard?

"The car back there, the silver one well it's been on our tail since we left the bar and if I'm not mistaken it was outside my place when we left. It could be nothing, but I don't like it."

She went to turn back around and he quickly and gently turned her to face him, his fingers under her chin with a whispered: "Look at me. Not there, as I said, it could be nothing, just keep walking and we'll get inside and I'll make some calls-"

"No!" She said quickly before she could stop herself. Realising her mistake she quickly continued, "I mean, no, I don't want any trouble, I'll keep an eye out but there's no need."

"But if it is then-"

"Then I will call the police, but right now, we have a cab to call and a date to finish." She said with a somewhat coy smile and he smiled at her use of the word he had stumbled over earlier.

"That sounds a fair deal, but you will tell me if you see it again, yes? Because you know I can find out for you..."

"Yes, and that's sweet but it's really not necessary, if I see it again later tonight I'll look up its plates-"

"How, you don't have the cleara-"

"Trust me sugar, it's better if you don't know."

"Ah I see." he said, realising what she meant, his posture relaxing slightly as he saw the silver car take the next turn, and with it no longer behind them he sighed in relief. "It's gone now, maybe I'm just so used to seeing bad things that my mind jumped to conclusions." He said with a small laugh.

"Maybe you just need to get out more." She teased, not making a move to escape the arm that had encased her shoulders earlier.

"I think you might be right there." He replied with a small smile before adding: "But please do tell me if you see it again, just promise me you will, just to put my mind at ease?" He asked softly.

"Ok, I promise, _Dad._" She replied, rolling her eyes with a laugh while wondering if crossing your fingers still cancelled out promises.

When they reached his place the cab was already outside. They were both slightly awkward for a second before he said the words she both wanted to hear and didn't: "We should do this again sometime."

"We should." She found herself agreeing before she even had the chance to let her think about it...damn hormones.

"Good." He said with a nod.

"Good." She repeated, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"You wanting a lift or what, lady?" Yelled the cab driver and there moment, or rather what she felt could have been a moment was interrupted.

"Yeah, she's coming." Morgan said before she had a chance to reply and the next thing she knew his lips were pressed softly against hers for just a second or two before he pulled away and they smiled slightly. "I had a good time."

"Yeah, me too." She said softly with a half smile, turning back to watch him walking back up the path as she climbed into the back of the cab and gave him her address.

* * *

Morgan watched the cab's lights as it drove down the street, pleased with how the night had turned out. He had acquired some new computer skills and had a great night with her, and he had given in and kissed those ruby red lips that had been in his dreams since he had seen her in the coffee shop. But his blood froze when the familiar silver car followed the cab up the road, taking the same turning. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he frantically noted down the reg plate to have Alicia look up tomorrow. He felt bad for not sticking to his word about leaving it to her, but this was something he could actually help with and he wanted to. Some would say he needed to, needed to feel like he was being helpful in some way.

_**More soon! Well as soon as I can...but definitely not THAT long! **_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.**_

"It's what?!" Morgan asks incredulously.

"You heard me right Morgan, it's a CSA plate. It was purchased through one of the brokers that they are known to use." Alicia said, her curiosity now well and truly piqued because of his reaction.

"Where did you say you saw this again?"

"I didn't."

"And you're not going to, are you?"

"Not just yet." He said simply and she could see the worry he was trying to hide.

He left the office with the information in hand and she knew that the second he had a break he would be out of there in a shot or else on the phone to whomever he was worried about.

She was right. When his lunch break came around he was out of the bull pen like a shot.

---

Penelope Garcia was freaking out. She'd run the plate last night and discovered it was in fact a CSA car that had been following her, and she knew she was in for it. She had been socialising with one of the very people she was supposed to be investigating. She had spent all morning trying to think up a sensible excuse and she was running herself in circles as her head spun at the many possible ramifications this had. She wondered now how she could be so stupid, so ridiculously careless. Damn that man and his deliciousness.

There was a loud knock at the door and she jumped before steeling herself for the conversation that she knew was about to occur. Her hand shook slightly as she reached for the door handle and she mentally gave herself a shake, she was the best at her job, they would not get rid of her.

She opened the door and her brows met in confusion before a smile broke out on her face as she saw Derek standing in the doorway.

"Hi." She said softly and he could hear the slight edge of confusion in her voice.

"Hi." He replied with a small smile that didn't quite reach his eyes and she could see the worry that was in them. "I know you told me you'd find out about the car if you saw it again but I saw it follow your taxi last night and I-"

"Derek, please tell me you didn't..." She trailed off, terrified of what he had found.

"I did." He said softly and she could see that although there was a bit of guilt in his eyes it wasn't the main emotion there. The main emotion was fear; he was terrified for her. "It followed the cab down the road and I had a bad feeling, I had to do something."

She couldn't be annoyed with him for being worried about her, in fact it was sweet, but she was now angry at herself for getting into this situation. She was trained to specifically _not_ get into these situations, and look at what she'd gone and done.

He rushed to try and explain himself and his worries as he noticed her slightly blank stare. "It's CSA - do you know what CSA is?" He asked, noticing her eyes bulge slightly at the name.

"I-" She started before pausing to take a deep breath wondering just how she was going to get out of this. "I work for them." She said, opting for the truth. His gaped at her and she knew she would have to explain, or well, make something up. "I work with their computers, I was developing a programme for them and they wanted more security on me and the project and decided it'd be better if I was left out of the loop. I just found out not long ago when I phoned the plates in."

He nodded mutely, looking at her with a mixture of worry and relief. He laughed slightly nervously, rubbing a hand over the back of his head. "Sorry. I guess, what with my- I guess I just panicked."

"No, thank you, it's sweet." She said with a small smile while she cursed inwardly at the fact that she was now in even deeper in this web and her mind wandered, wondering just who the hell from her agency and others were watching her.

"Ok." He said, nodding as a smile broke out on his face: she wasn't annoyed at him. "I should, eh, I should go." He said after a pause. "Let you get back to your work." He smiled again and she wanted to stop him, to ask him to stay for a cup of coffee. But she didn't, she was far too busy raking over possibilities of those watching her.

When Derek reached the hallway there was a loud knock at the door and he stood to the side as Penelope passed him to open the door on her second uninvited guest of the day.

---

She opened the door to see Howard glowering down at her and she gulped. This was not what she needed; it was the worst thing that could happen right about now. She wished that the ground would swallow her up where she stood as Howard glared down at her with barely contained anger and Derek looked between them with worry and concern.

"Howard." She said in greeting, her voice with no trace of her usual jovialness. She shot a glance back at Morgan when she heard him shift from one foot to the other and spoke, this time more softly: "Howard's here for some work stuff...you know how it is..." She trailed off and he took up where she left off.

"Ok, yeah, no worries, I'll talk to you another time." Derek said and with one last slightly worried glance he was out the door and down the stairs with a mental note to phone her later and to check out this Howard guy, he had a bad feeling about him.

---

"What the hell's he doing here Garcia?" Howard snarled as he walked past her into her living room.

"Good Afternoon to you too Howard. Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for asking, what about yourself?" She muttered sarcastically under her breath as she followed him into her home.

"What?" He asked as he turned to her after catching some muttering as she walked in.

"I said; what do you want?"

"I _want_ to know why _he_ was here." He said with an edge to his voice that made her very uncomfortable.

She took a deep breath before replying, her head held high and a somewhat sinister smile on her lips. "You wanted to know _everything_ about him and his team, well the only way I could find you what you were asking for I used the fact that I bumped into him a few days before I knew who he was to my advantage."

"And just _what_ was last night then?" He snarled, his lip curling into an evil smile as if to say: _Gotcha_.

"Last night was a way in. The way I can get into that team, to find out all the information I am being asked to find via cyberspace which I _cannot_ find via there. As much as I am good, even my tech prowess only extends so far." She said with a slight twitch of her lips and she watched as her words sunk in and the dots joined up. "Once you know what size of underwear they wear and what measurements they are there is really nothing else you can learn online." She said sarcastically.

He nodded stiffly, seeming to accept her explanation and she would have sighed in relief if he hadn't been standing in front of her. "Ok. Good job." He conceded with obvious reluctance. "Make sure you pass on the information directly to Branagan and be quick about it. You have your in, now use it to get the information we need."

It would help if I knew what the hell you were looking for, she thought to herself, biting her tongue to stop herself from saying it aloud.

"I will." She said in response and showed him to the door. Just as he was about to leave he turned to her and casually added:

"The car will change, but there will be someone on your tail. We need to make sure your safe, can't be having you getting hurt now can we? We protect our own." He said and she couldn't read him, was he being serious? Was he threatening her? Or was she reading far too much into this?

Just as she was about to close the door he turned once again: "I hope this doesn't strain your_ acting_ _skills _too much." And she knew that that time he was being sarcastic, and it hit her: the kiss.

_Crap._ What had started out as a relatively simple task was leading her into a whole world of trouble. And in reality she had no idea just what amount of trouble this could lead her into.

_**And so we have another chapter! More asap...**_


	7. Chapter 7

_**Folk have been wondering where I'm taking this story...well my brain wandered on a train journey and I came up with this...**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.**_

Morgan felt like a stalker, he shouldn't still be here. And yet here he was, sitting in his car watching the light at her window and waiting to see when Howard would come down. He had a bad feeling about her partner and he had only walked by the guy. It was one of those gut feelings and although he knew he shouldn't be doing this, shouldn't still be here, he didn't start the car. His gut was telling him something wasn't right and he _always _listened to his gut, no matter what.

Fifteen minutes later when Howard left her apartment block with a rather sinister smile on his face Morgan was glad that he had stayed. That man was up to something. Ignoring the nagging doubts in his mind about whether or not what he was doing was _right_ he pulled out after Howard's car ready to follow him wherever he went.

---

Garcia was pacing in her small living room, her mind trawling through every little detail over the past few days, trying to work out what she was going to do. The glaringly obvious solution to her was to cut all contact with Morgan and just tell Branagan she had done all she could and move on to the next job. But now she was questioning if she really wanted to move on to the next job. This one seemed to have no reason behind it at all and it worried her, pulled at her conscience the more she found out about this "wonder team". She knew that some of the things she was asked to do were not exactly legal and some of her methods were questionable but this was troubling her more than usual. However this time she was not looking for information on the bad guys; this team was blatantly one of the good ones and she was unsettled by her investigation, especially with the insistence for more information.

Something was going on. Something that she knew that she didn't want to be a part of. In fact, she wasn't sure she wanted to be a part of this 'organisation' any longer. The tasks had gotten steadily stranger and her partner was a jerk. There wasn't really anything keeping her here. Aside from the fact that she was either with them or against them, and she didn't really fancy being against them either she thought ruefully as she collapsed down on to her sofa with a sigh. She had a lot of thinking to do.

---

The unsettled feeling rose in Morgan's stomach as he continued to tail Howard and he was glad he hadn't come in the SUV, glad of the certain level of camouflage that his car gave him on the relatively quite roads.

When Howard finally pulled over Morgan continued on, noting the house name and number to add to the information he could give to Alicia to check him out. He didn't know why he was so worried but his gut told him to continue on through with this. So he did.

---

"Morgan what is going on?" Alicia asked with worry as she saw his face darken at her previous words: _'Robert Howard is a known alias of one Howard Letterman, the right hand man to none other than Harry Grant, who is himself the right hand man of Kenneth Davis... Isn't that the spoiled rich kid who thinks he runs this town? I suppose he does...he always gets his way, we could never trace where his cash flow went to nab him.'_

"Nothing." He said quickly, his eyes and expression betraying him.

"Morgan, this isn't nothing! This is the second time you've asked me for a favour and each time it's turned up something like this," she said slightly exasperated. "and you just sweep it under the rug. _What is going on_? I can help." She beseeched, not liking the worry etched on her friend's face.

"I met this girl-"

"A _girl?!_ You've had me looking this up because you met some floozie-"

"No! No, it's not like that. Well it sort of is but she works with computers and I wanted to learn something, anything that would mean I could help, or make me feel like I was at least trying to do something to help I suppose, but she was being followed and I panicked. Maybe it's the job, or paranoia but I got worried and I wanted to make sure she would be safe. And then I found out she's CSA and her partner showed up and he didn't –"

"Morgan, slow down. You said she's CSA and you followed her _partner_ and this is what you just found on him...do you realise what this means don't you?" He nodded.

"Either she _thinks_ she's CSA and she's not or...or...she works for him and doesn't know, or she does. Either way I am in for a massive bollocking when Hotch finds out..." He trailed off.

"Well let's hope she's the first, but you do realise that this could be a break that Gino's team is looking for? Would she help them? Can you convince her too?"

"I can try, she's a good person, I'll talk to her, but I need to talk to Hotch first, and Gino. See how much crap I'm going to be in for this." He said with a sigh, throwing a thanks over his shoulder as he left, like a man on a mission, ready to sort all of this mess out. Or attempt to at least.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds.**_

Morgan had been banging on her door for the last five minutes, and even though he knew that he should be annoyed, at that present moment he was worried, extremely worried. What if she didn't know who she was working for and that piece-of-work partner of hers had come back? What if she was in trouble? And then there was the rogue thought that he tried to squash: what if she really was working for them and knew exactly who she was helping?

Worry quickly overtook that thought when there was still no answer after another few minutes and his body reacted without him having a second thought.

BANG. The door fell to the floor, its hinges in tatters as he ran forward into the apartment with his gun raised.

"Morgan?! What the hell did you do?!" She almost screamed at him as she stepped out into the hallway to see what the hell had happened...in nothing but a towel and he gulped at the sight, tucking his gun into its holster. "Why the hell did you just break down my door? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!" She said and her voice rose an octave as she turned to him.

"You didn't answer and I was worried." He said plainly and she cut across him as he tried to continue.

"I was in the shower! As much as that display of macho-ism would be considered brave, daring and oh so hot normally, I swear to you I am fine and you _will_ fix my door."

"Of course. But first, first we have to talk." He said seriously and she frowned at the look in his eyes, was that a bit of hurt she detected?

"Ok, sure. Make yourself at home, but before I end up flashing you I am going to put some clothes on." She said with a wink as she left the room.

"Oh, and do you mind standing the door back up, there's a bit of a draft." She called through to him.

He laughed softly, realising the rashness of his actions only now. But he had been worried; it was the only thing he could think to do. Although now he realised phoning her could have been a better first option to breaking down the door.

---

She had expected to come back into the room to find him stretched out comfily on her sofa looking for all the world as if he belonged there, but in fact he was pacing along her rug, the material under his feet cushioning his steps as his mind obviously whirled.

"What's up?" She asked, her eyebrows knitting together.

"Maybe you should sit down." He said and motioned to her chair. She looked at him quizzically but took a seat anyway, looking up at his still pacing form.

"Morgan will you sit down!" She exclaimed after a few minutes of silence in which he continued to pace. "Sit down and tell me what is going on, what's got you so worked up that you broke down my door in hero mode and that's now making you unable to sit down and spit it out." She said, a light smile playing at her lips.

"Who do you work for?" He asked suddenly, falling into another of her chairs.

"What?" She asked, obviously very confused.

"Who do you work for?" He pressed once more and once again she thought she saw some fleeting hurt in his eyes.

"The CSA." She answered with confusion evident in her voice and her eyes when he looked up at her.

"Are you sure?" He asked softly, not wanting to be having this conversation with someone who he had for once, really liked.

"Yes I'm sure! Of course I'm sure! What is this Morgan?!" She asked, angry at his questions.

"I followed Howard." He said, hanging his head to look at the floor, away from her eyes.

"You did what?!?!" Her voice had risen yet again. "Why would you do that? What's going on?" It was then that she realised that he was nervous, worried and scared, there was something else going on. This was not a personal attack on her, but he was hurt about something. "Wait," She said, much more softly now. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Morgan exhaled slowly before beginning: "Have you ever heard of Howard Lettermen?" He asked, watching her to gauge her reaction.

"No." She said, her voice weary. She was really confused, she had no idea what was going on and it was beginning to unsettle her.

"Harry Grant?"

"No, I don't know who these people are Morgan, is it important?" She questioned and he knew she was telling the truth: it was in her voice, her eyes and her mannerisms.

"How about Kenneth Davis?" He asked, paying special attention to every little detail this time.

"Oh sure, everyone's heard of him. Young guy, born into massive wealth of his parents who earned it somewhat illegally and who lives an affluent lifestyle all the while using mean who he feels are below him to carry out his dirty work." She replied as if it was common knowledge. "Haven't met the bloke, but have you seen the pictures? Don't think I'd fancy meeting him in a dark alley." She joked, trying to lighten the mood that was descending.

"But you don't know him?" He asked this time. "You just know what you've heard?"

"Yeah, why? Morgan, will you please just tell me what's going on and what this has to do with Howard." She implored.

"I followed Howard, he was meeting with Harry Grant. I got our tech to look into him and Howard isn't who he says he is, he is in fact Howard Lettermen, known ally of Harry Grant, and therefore Kenneth Davis." Her jaw dropped in surprise at his words.

" Wh-what? No, Howard's been my partner for years and Branagan wouldn't have hired him if he was...Morgan, what's going on? Wait a second! You thought I could have known! That's why you're here, isn't it?!"

"No. I didn't want to believe you knew, but I had to hear it from you. I had to make sure. And I want to ask if you'll consider something."

"What is it?" She asked, her mind reeling from the revelations.

"Will you help us try to track them? Try to finally nail Kenneth Davis and his associates for something solid, by using your connection to get us an in."

"Yes." She replied straight away, not having to think about it for a second. If Howard wasn't who he said he was and this was all true (and she believed Morgan) then she wanted as far away from it as possible, and if she could help bring them down then she would.

"Thank you." He said, his voice and actions coloured with obvious relief.

"No, thank you for coming to ask me, for giving me a chance to get one up on those fuckers for playing me all this time!"

"We think they have Branagan, we don't think he is with them, but we do think they have some kind of leverage over him that is making him to what they want, and with Howard as your partner they had it covered from all aspects." He said with a somewhat sympathetic tone to his voice.

Her mind was rooting over each and every meeting with Branagan and Howard, every phone call, every minute spent casually chatting, everything. Trying to find any and all hints there may have been but she couldn't think of any. When Morgan asked her another question she agreed automatically without really listening to his words. When her mind caught up with what he was saying however her blood froze:

"We will need to check everything they've had you search, from the most recent to the very first thing."

She was in big trouble, how was she supposed to get out of this one? The answer, she knew, was that she wasn't. She had dug herself this hole and now she had to live with the consequences.

No matter what happened once he found out she would still do the case against Howard, still try and help, it was the right thing to do. But not only that she hoped that maybe, just maybe he could come to understand what had happened and maybe she would be allowed a second chance with this gorgeous man because she knew that the second he found out that she had been investigating him and the team this new bond they were forming would shatter in an instant. She had gained his trust, which was in itself extremely hard to do and a massive compliment, and one look at her investigating history and it would be gone completely. It saddened her.

He watched her face fall slightly and wondered what he had said in his flood of relief that she hadn't known what was going on with her bosses.

"Penelope, are you ok?"He asked softly, leaning forward to squeeze her hand.

"Hmm, yeah, just trying to take this all in." She said, smiling tightly and trying to work up the courage to tell him about her recent job, knowing that coming from her it would still be a betrayal but it was only fair he heard the truth rather than found out on his own and she had to try and explain anyway.

"Don't worry, I know it's big, massive in fact but you can come to the BAU with me and we'll start straight away, I know you'll be a massive asset to the team that's working the case."

She smiled slightly at his reassuring words before she took the plunge:

"Morgan, I need to tell you something." She said softly. "But I need you to promise me one thing first." She said, looking up into his eyes that were now filled with worry and slight confusion. "I need you to promise to hear me out."

"Oh-kay." He said slowly, worry entering his voice at her words.

"I was asked to investigate the BAU..." she began and at those words his jaw clenched and his eyes hardened, along with his heart. It was safe to say that was not what he had been expecting, and it floored him; it floored him enough that each and every single one of his barriers that she had managed to manoeuvre her way under and around snapped back up in an instant to protect himself.

She saw the metaphorical barriers go back up and she wanted nothing more than to take it back but this way was the better way. She had to live with what she had done, although now so did he and she wished that she could stop it from hurting either of them.

Pushing her thoughts and feelings to the side she told him everything, and sitting in her living room with a broken down door her heart broke just as much his.


	9. Chapter 9

_**We're on the home stretch now people...**_

On the way to the BAU, they exchanged few words and Garcia had watched as his demeanour hardened, his emotions retreated from his eyes and his gestures became mechanical.

She had known that it was going to hurt him; betrayal would do that to people, and yet she hadn't expected this reaction. Anger she had expected from someone so passionate, so loyal and so protective. This complete shut off was the furthest thing from her mind.

But then she thought back to her findings on him, to his dad, to Carl Buford, to his time at high school and things fell into place. It made her heart ache more than it already was, only now it was not only aching for herself and the possible loss of a chance with this beautiful man, and for him for the shock of her true starting purpose, but also for the little boy who she had just crushed so completely by shattering his trust in her in one fell swoop.

---

The building even looked imposing as they left the car and wordlessly headed through the doors. He signed her in and took her elbow to lead her in the right direction, still remaining silent.

"Morgan, I know that saying sorry again isn't going to help but I-"

"You're right; it's not, so why bother?" He replied and although not unfriendly there was a distinct coldness to his voice, but she had expected that, deserved that.

"You're going to have to talk to me at some point, even if only in passing, especially if I'm helping with this case."

"Not my case." He said and he knew he sounded like he was a child about to have a tantrum but he really didn't care, right now he was too upset, too angry and too hurt to care about how he sounded.

She nodded sadly; he really wasn't going to say anything else to her now. But that was not going to stop her from trying. She knew what she did was unforgiveable but she just hoped that their 'relationship' or 'connection' or whatever label she wanted to put on it held some kind of stead in his heart and mind that could help her even begin to start the journey that she knew would be long and arduous to gain his trust back. But she was willing to try, willing to work for it. She knew that she _had_ to work for it and so as he left her with the team of agents who were leading the case with barely a grunt of acknowledgement and not even a glance her way she reminded herself that if you didn't have to work for something in life then it was never that good to begin with.

---

Morgan sank down in his chair with a defeated sigh, his head resting in his hands as the words spoken by Penelope earlier reverberated in his head. She had lied to him, and not only that she was the hacker, the very one he had been getting her help to find, the very one who was putting his friends, no – his family, at risk, and he had fallen for her. He knew that much. He had fallen hook line and sinker for the most wonderful woman he had met and she turned out to have betrayed him, used him even. This was why he didn't get attached, this was why one night stands or his "three-date rule" was so much safer, so much less hassle. He had finally invested himself in something, in someone and had decided that he would see where it went, see how long it lasted, and hopefully it would last a long, long time, but she had destroyed it, crushed his heart and took with it the possibilities and the chances that he had thought of since meeting her.

He could not believe it, and yet he should have known. That's what was getting to him the most right now – the hurt and the anger at possible lost love and betrayal would come later but right now he was annoyed at himself: He was supposed to be a profiler, and a damn good one at that and yet he hadn't seen it, hadn't seen that she was hiding anything, nothing at all. The woman had been almost impossible to read, and yet he had thought he had figured her out. He could work out her emotions, her feelings, but what he had missed was one thing that must have been glaringly obvious: she was setting him up, and not only that but she was using him. No matter how many times she had tried to explain during her speech, or after he had announced they were going to the BAU, or even in the car, he couldn't believe that someone could say that they felt so strongly about another person and still betray them so completely as she had.

He was broken from his thoughts by Hocthner, his boss, calling a team conference and he sighed roughly, shaking his head as if to get his head back in the game; he needed to keep focused on work or he would mope for far too long. And really, he thought to himself, it's not worth moping over someone who can do such a thing to someone they claim to like.

---

"The woman is a _genius,_ an utter genius with a computer! She does things ways I'd never have thought of, and ten times faster as well! She's a revelation! I cannot wait to learn from her." Alicia exclaimed to JJ and Emily as Morgan walked into the room. "You did good finding her Morgan, she's brilliant!"

He only nodded stiffly in reply.

"What's got your goat Mr Grumpy Pants?" She questioned with a laugh, Morgan's words from earlier completely skipping her mind, eclipsed instead by the thrill of new skills to be learned and just what she could do with that knowledge.

"Doesn't matter." He mumbled and was glad when Hotch came into the room with Rossi and Reid in tow, ready to start the meeting. However this thought turned to anguish at the first words Hotch spoke:

"We've been asked to help with the Davis case. " He felt as if he had been sucker punched, and not for the first time today he wanted to retreat into himself and get away from all those around him. "They want us in on it because they want it closed, and fast. They need to move quickly, what with all this new information, and in order to do that they need warm bodies. We've been volunteered unless any more pressing cases come to our attention. You report to Gino first thing after lunch to get your jobs. But until then, I want last cases' paperwork on my desk as soon as." He finished, effectively dismissing them.

---

When 1 o'clock came around Morgan knew he had to get his game face on, he could do this, and she was only a woman after all. He would go in there and work his butt off, show her that he could do his job, that no matter that he had misjudged her, he knew how to read people, and he was damn good at it too!

When he finally psyched himself up sufficiently, he walked into the offices upstairs with his usual swagger and although he could feel her eyes on him as she allowed her searches some time to accumulate data he refused to even acknowledge it. Someone who could do that to a person did not deserve it.

Privately he wondered if the rest of the BAU had found out about her recent areas of digging, but he suspected not because both Alicia and Emily were chatting away to her quite the thing and although he wanted nothing more than to tell them, he knew that it was not his place. It would become the job of IA. Unless Hotch found out before then, then well, then she might not be so lucky. The man had pull when he chose to use it. However, the more Morgan thought about it the more he knew that she was going to be here to stay, someone with such hacking and computing abilities would not be let go, no matter what they had or hadn't done. That was the way the Bureau worked, although he wondered just how fast they were going to have to work before the true CSA and Davis himself both found out that they no longer had one of their key players.

---

She had seen him come in and as she sat back to let the computers do their thing she watched him, his shoulders remained set and his eyes remained impassive, the man was giving nothing away. Although she knew he was hurting, that much was evident in his behaviour change. She kept repeating the words: "I'm so sorry Derek, let me explain..." in her head every time he walked by, so much so that she thought she had actually said it aloud one time when he stopped suddenly, turning on the spot. Her heart rate had accelerated; was he going to give her another chance? No. He leaned over the desk next to him to grab a new pen before heading back to where he had been before: the opposite end of the room.

She had spotted the other members of his team, the photo ID badges she had found during her searches allowing her to pick them out easily in the crowded room, and so when two women came towards her she knew exactly who they were: SSA Emily Prentiss and TA Alicia Baxter. She could rattle off a hundred different facts, both well known and secret about each of them, and yet when they began to speak to her all of that fell to the way side. It was not important, what was important was the two people standing in front of her who were doing their best to try and make her feel welcome, and although she realised that they must not know that she had been researching them and that was essentially how she had ended up in this very room she felt grateful for their friendliness. As she listened to their anecdotes and laughed at their jokes, batting back some comebacks herself she wished that she had hacked a different mainframe way back when she had been recruited by the CSA. Why, she wondered, did I not try Uncle Sam? I could have ended up here so much sooner.

She shook her head to dispel those thoughts as her computer buzzed, signalling that the search was well under way, and she reminded herself that in life, time should not be wasted on "what if"s or "could I have"s, but that it was to be savoured and cherished and that everything - no matter how small and seemingly insignificant or how big and seemingly catastrophic or euphoric – happened for a reason. That maybe this was a major roadblock that she had to get past with Morgan, maybe this did not have to be the end – and she fully intended to try to make sure it was not – but right now, this was what had to be done and in the end it would work out the way it was supposed to.

No matter how naive it made her she had, and would, always believe that, and so with a small smile tugging at her lips as her heart clutched on to that sliver of hope more tightly she turned back to the computer screens and got stuck in once again.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Thanks to a certain southerner who gave me this plot emu to go with as I floundered around with no real idea where to take it :)) Now...on with the story....**_

Over the next few days Garcia worked in close contact with the BAU team members and the group of Agents lead by Gino. However, the one agent she did want to see was the only one that never came within a foot of her. Derek Morgan was staying well and truly out of her way, and although she did not blame him at all she really just wanted to see him, set her eyes on him to see that what she had done hadn't done as much damage as she had thought.

Alas it was not to be. The vision did not want to see her.

---

Morgan had avoided the "command centre" of the Davis investigation for the past few days, giving his files to Emily or JJ to take in for him, ignoring their questioning looks and not allowing them to delve into what was bothering him.

It was three days since he had set foot in the room, three days since he had seen Garcia. And although he had thought he would be unaffected by this he knew he could not pretend that that was the case. He missed her. He wanted to see her smile, make her laugh, kiss her ruby red lips again, but then what she had done flew to the forefront of his mind and made him ignore those feelings, made him put his head down and walk past the door at a quicker pace.

It was on this third day when his thoughts had wandered once again to the possibility of maybe beginning to process what had happened with Penelope when Emily leaned on the side of his desk with a mug of coffee in her hands and a serious expression on her face. He looked up at her with a similar expression, hoping she had not been able to read his eyes before. His eyes always gave him away.

"So what's the deal with you and the computer chic, Garcia?" She asked, absentmindedly stirring her cup.

"Nothing." He said simply, not wanting to talk about it. He hadn't thought about it past getting angry, he didn't want to go past that yet.

"Uh huh, and if I believed that I'd also believe that gullible isn't in the dictionary." She said sarcastically. "Rumour has it you're the one that brought her in, and another little birdie told me that she's been asking where you are."

"You shouldn't believe rumours." He murmured looking down at the paperwork in front of him.

"What, so are you going to tell me that you haven't been avoiding the command centre? That you haven't been purposely staying as far away from her as you can?" He didn't respond. "That when you did go in just after she was brought in as an asset that you didn't avoid going anywhere near her, didn't even look her way?"

"Emily..." He said softy.

Catching his tone Emily knew to back off, but she risked her luck and pushed one last time, but this time speaking softly. "Morgan, what happened?"

He let out a shaky laugh. "I can't believe I'm telling you this, but better you than one of that lot." He laughed again, looking back down at the paperwork. "I kept seeing this girl, this beautiful girl as I ran my circuit every morning. And when I finally went into the coffee shop we hit it off, talking, flirting, laughing and joking. She was that girl."

"What, and it was a bad break up or something?"

"Nope, it was great, she was amazing, smart, funny and she even helped teach me a bit about computer cos it's 'what she does', and sure I wasn't able to actually help Alicia but I felt better knowing _something_. But then I found out who she worked for. The very man you are investigating upstairs. But she didn't know and I fully believe that."

"So why are you so upset then? I mean if she ....there's more." She cut herself off at his facial expression.

"Guess who she was researching before I informed her who she was really working for." Emily shook her head, she didn't know. "Us."

"What?!" Emily spluttered. "And she still went out with you while she investigated us? Why haven't we been told this?"

"Yeah she did. Ironic, eh? First time I meet a girl I actually _like_ and that happens. And I guess they need the people more than they need us to know what's going on."

Before she got carried away with this new knowledge, Emily stopped herself, remembering the soft smile and the honesty that Garcia had exuded when they had met, as well as that guilt that she hadn't been able to place. Now she understood.

"Morgan, you said she didn't know who she was working for so surely she didn't realise who she was investigating. Maybe she didn't get anything yet."

"Have you seen her at her computer? It'd have taken her twenty seconds to find out all there is to know, even with my sealed files." He said with a laugh alluding to a case in the past that although Emily had not been there she had learned about from him in time.

"But she spoke to you, she explained it all to you, she must have, that's why you're eating yourself up about it." Emily stated and he couldn't deny that she was right. "You like her."

"Yeah, I think we've established that thanks." He said sarcastically.

"So you're thinking that you wanna talk to her, you wanna see if you can work something out."

"I don't know." He said with a somewhat sad smile, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Sleep on it." Emily said with a smile, patting his shoulder before leaving with a smile: _the_ Derek Morgan had fallen for someone. And this wouldn't be as easy as his usual conquests.

---

Garcia was finishing up for the day – there was nothing more that she could do tonight. Her digging had produced many results that the team was siphoning through, taking all the details that they could use to make their case while Gino organised the sting.

She was driving back to her apartment with a million different thoughts colliding in her head, from wondering about Morgan to what she was going to have for dinner. She stepped out of her beloved car after parking and she took two steps before freezing with fear as a large hand clamped over her mouth and another pulled her hands behind her back.

She struggled against the strong hold, her eyes beginning to water as she tried to make a sound, to get someone's attention and no sound came out. She had always wondered why some people never screamed their lungs dry to get help. Now she understood, fear. Blind fear stopped even the smallest of sounds from leaving her lips.

Her eyes filled with tears as she continued to struggle against the strong hands that bundled her towards the black SUV that had been parked next to her space. It was futile. Whoever had her in their grip was far too strong. She was not going to be able to remove herself from her grip.

As she was tied up - despite her constant attempts to struggle away from the hands that were keeping her in place – she really wished she had taken the agents up on the offer of a lift home. That was the one thought that circled in her brain along with the fact that she wished she had stopped researching the BAU team the second she had realised they were FBI.

_**And so the plot emu has begun....more soon!............and yes, I did say plot EMU...someone mentioned that bunnies are overworked....;)**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**And the plot emu continues.....**_

Garcia tried to scream against the gag as the car drove to its destination. Tears of frustration and fear were streaming down her face as the binds did nothing but rub at her skin, not giving at all. In her mind she was seeing all of her regrets and all of the things that she wished she had done, wished she hadn't waited to do. Her thoughts were brought back to Morgan and she knew that if this was it he would be her biggest regret. She only hoped that the crack team of profilers and agents at the FBI could find her, because surely before long they would be looking for her? At least in the morning they would be when she wasn't there at the meeting. She hoped she'd last until morning. Still unsure of whom her captor was due to her position she was only somewhat surprised when she heard the familiar tones of Howard's voice as he spoke in the phone.

She almost sighed then, Howard. It was Howard. She felt herself smiling against the gag despite her situation. Gino had people working around the clock following him, hopefully somebody would have seen what happened and they would be coming for her.

---

Being called back into work just as he was leaving was a kick in the teeth for Morgan, he had been ready to go home, stick his feet up with a few beers and watch the tele while his mind processed all that had happened lately. He grumbled with complaint as his beeper went off and he turned around and headed straight back the way he came, preparing himself for giving him nothing away when he went into the conference room to help with whatever this breakthrough was. This was one time that he knew he would not be able to send JJ or Emily in for him. According to the page they needed everyone and they needed them now.

Walking into offices Morgan was shocked at just all the hubbub, something _big_ was happening. He wondered if they now had what they needed to finally put cuffs on Davis when Gino's voice sounded above the noise.

"Right! Everybody listen up. We have a situation, but this we can use to our advantage. Howard has taken Penelope Garcia." Morgan's stomach bottomed out at those words. "We've had a tail on him all night and our men are following him until we can get more people out there."

"What s they saw him take her and did _nothing_?!" Morgan asked, his voice almost bark-like.

"Agent Morgan? Did you have something you wanted to say?" Gino asked, ignoring what had just been said, chalking it down to stress. Morgan didn't say anything, his jaw set as he watched the man before him begin to excuse the fact that they hadn't moved in straight away to keep Garcia safe because this could be good for the case. That if Howard took Garcia to any of Davis' properties they could get him as well as Howard and Lettermen in cuffs and would then be able to use Garcia and their other Technical Analysts to nail the bastards to the wall.

Derek wanted to nail him to the wall. His hurt at Garcia for doing what she did being eclipsed by the fact that he wanted her safe, safe and back here where he knew nobody else could hurt her. In that moment of realisation it hit him that no matter what she had done he really liked her, some would even say he was falling in love with her, and she really had sounded about as distraught as he had felt when she was explaining. And so when Gino asked for volunteers he was out of his seat and propelling Emily with him to the SUV, ready to help save the woman he knew he wanted to see every day for the rest of his life.

---

Garcia really hoped that someone was following them, the longer the car drove around for the more she began to worry that she was not going to be saved. Every time the car stopped she lay as still as she could, but the second it was moving again she continued to struggle against the bindings, hoping that Howard wouldn't hear her struggles over the roar of the engine. When the car was put in park and Howard turned to her she couldn't believe the overwhelming sense of fear that enveloped her. She was sure that the FBI agents would have gotten to her before now, that she would have been saved. And now she was terrified, what the hell was he going to do to her? Why had he taken her?

All of the questions that would have been her first thoughts were now running rampant in her mind as Howard sneered at her over the shoulder of his chair before getting out of the car. The door slammed with what was a deafening bang to her ears another wave of tears escaped her eyes as a sense of helplessness overcame her once more.

And then there was a loud thud and the car shook as something rammed into one side and she screamed into the gag, squeezing her eyes shut as she fell down behind the passenger seat, wincing as she felt the breath being knocked out of her on impact.

The door opened once again and she didn't dare look at up at Howard as he no doubt came to take her to meet the men she had unknowingly worked for. However the voice she heard was most definitely not Howard's.

"Garcia?" The soft voice asked, "Garcia?!" it repeated, this time with greater urgency. "Pen, Baby Girl?" Said none other than the man she had thought would never speak to her again as his strong arms pulled her from the car floor, sitting her on the seat and undoing the bindings, softly rubbing the areas that were reddened from her struggles, before he removed the gag, straightening her glasses and moving a strand of hair from her face to behind her ear as their eyes remained connected in a look that spoke more than words.

He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when the other members of the team called him out of the vehicle: they had to take Howard in and be back at the headquarters quickly in order to work out their next move against Davis.


	12. Chapter 12

_**And we have hit the last chapter guys...**_

They had been back to the FBI building for half an hour already, everyone – including Garcia, after being checked over by the in-building physician – were all hands on deck trying to find everything they could to link Garcia's kidnap back to Davis, or even Lettermen. Any break would be a good break. Garcia had just sat down at her computer station when she was having orders barked at her from left right and centre but she simply ignored them, getting to each and every one of them her own way and before Gino knew what was happening she had pulled up every single sliver of the man she had known as Howard's life through cyber space: from the last internet page he visited, to his latest phonecalls and his bank statements.

"Garcia, I need that over here now!" Gino called over.

"Check your e-mail." She called back in reply. True enough all the information he needed and wanted was already sitting and waiting in his inbox in clearly titled e-mails. The woman was a revelation.

---

The whole place was buzzing, that was the only way to describe it. Everybody was working quickly, trying to piece together everything they needed to charge Howard with, and also how they could connect it to both Letterman and Davis. Due to Garcia's quick digging and distribution of the information it was taking less time than usual. Now all they were waiting on was JJ to get off the phone to the judge for warrants. Even the FBI had to conform to some rules.

The second JJ came off the phone she nodded: they had the go ahead. The Bureau did not take lightly to their assets or their agents being kidnapped, and if it was going to help them bring down someone like Davis then they were going to move fast.

---

Morgan wasn't on the task force of agents who were off to do the grunt work and actually hand the search warrants as well as put the cuffs on the man that they had been chasing for a long time now. He'd put good money on Gino being the one to slap the cuffs on him.

Finally the room was much quieter and he was making his way over to Penelope, ready to talk to her about it all when his cell rang: Hotch. He had to take it, that specific conversation would have to wait. He answered the call, listening to what Hotch was saying before saying he would be right down, turning at the door to look at her once more before he left he was surprised to meet her eyes. He smiled slightly and he saw the relief flood her eyes as he nodded before turning his back on the investigation room.

Garcia couldn't believe it, did that smile plus that moment in the car – because she was sure it was a moment – mean he was trying to forgive her? That maybe she hadn't blown it with him after all? God she hoped so.

---

After helping the fellow BAU members with a profile to send on to the Louisiana branch he sagged into his desk chair with a sigh. He wanted nothing more than to go home now but he wanted to wait and see them bring Letterman and Davis in, wanted to see the three men who had been pulling the strings behind Garcia's investigating. He wanted to know why they were being investigated, it was eating at him.

But so was something else. He wanted to talk to Garcia, tonight. Afraid that if he left it until another day his usual conservation method would kick in and he would lock her out, lock his heart away once more.

---

An hour later when his pager went off he was straight out of his chair, his paperwork left half done, and up the stairs to the conference room. He walked in as Davis and Letterman were taken by the other way, lead into the interrogation rooms behind this section and he couldn't help the relief that flowed through him. He saw Penelope out of the corner of his eye, her eyes were on him, as if trying to figure him out. He softly smiled to himself as he realised that he no longer cared just at this moment why these men had wanted them investigated, the important thing was they had been caught and he could finally have that discussion with her.

---

She watched Morgan as he watched Davis and Letterman being taken into the interrogation rooms and she tried to figure out what he was thinking, trying to figure out if he'd allow her to ask him for coffee so that they could talk. But he beat her to it, walking over to her with a small grin.

"Something tells me you'll need a ride home." He said, indicating for her to come with him.

"You sure?" She asked, although not wanting him to take it back.

"Who said I was gonna give you one?" He teased and had she not caught the teasing sparkle in his eye she would have worried that he wasn't trying to forget about what had happened.

She pouted at him in response. "Well you're chivalrous nature should ensure that you give me one after what happened last time I drove home." She shuddered slightly at that and he spoke quickly:

"It fades. It doesn't go away but it fades." He looked away quickly before looking back with a smile: "Well you better get moving Baby Girl or I'll retract my offer."

"Well it's you we're waiting on handsome." She replied with a smile, glad they seemed to be ok.

---

The car journey was relaxed and the conversation was kept to mainly menial things, trivial bits of information spiced up by their jokes and flirtatiousness. When they got to her place Morgan insisted he would walk her to her door because of what happened earlier that day. He was not taking no for an answer.

She turned the key in the lock and turned back to face him, about to thank him when his lips landed on hers in a soft kiss. She immediately reacted, kissing him back slightly as he pulled away. Looking up at him as he smiled slightly she was going to ask why, was going to ask if they were ok, but instead she kissed him again, her lips melding to his more fiercely as she kissed him with everything she had, her tongue tracing his lip seeking entrance which he gave freely. She kissed him passionately, putting all the words she knew she had yet to say into it; apologising, promising, wishing.

They pulled apart as their hands found the others' bodies, each offering the other soft smiles.

"How about dinner tomorrow?" Morgan asked with a smile as he stepped back so as not to tempt himself with her lips anymore.

"Yeah." She replied with a somewhat coy grin.

"Pick you up at 7?" He asked as he began to step backwards and away from her.

She nodded in reply and watched as he smiled and turned and began to walk down her steps.

"Morgan?" She called out to him.

"Yeah?" He asked, stopping and turning to face her.

"I'm sorry."

"I know." He said with a soft smile and she replied in kind with her own, offering a small wave as she entered her apartment with a smile. _They were going to be ok._

---

Morgan smiled to himself as he watched her go back into her apartment, smiling at the change of events. This morning he would have sworn blind that he would not speak to Penelope Garcia again, and yet here he was feeling like a school boy with a crush as six words reverberated in his head: _They were going to be ok, _and his smile grew even wider with each time.

_**Thanks to klcm for the plot emu, helped me round this one off :)) **_

_**There we have it...finally finished!**_


	13. Chapter 13

_**So I thought I was done with it...but here we go, wanted to write so M/G fluff of sorts so here we go :)**_

_They were going to be ok._

Those words had reverberated in Derek's head 6 months ago and now they _are_ ok, more than ok in fact. He hadn't been this together or this happy in a long time.

At work the woman was a revelation, getting results faster and more comprehensively and any other tech as well as teaching Alicia all that she knew, all the while still managing to flirt like the lovably bonkers woman she was, as well as being able to make the team laugh in order to break some of the tension. She had fit right into the fold. Morgan couldn't believe his luck; in 6 months they'd gone from only just starting out to the point where he could not see himself with anybody else.

As he watched her type furiously on her keyboard with all of her wonderfully eccentric nick-nacks decorating the space around her, colouring it exactly like her own personality, he smiled to himself. He had it good.

"Tiger, if you're gonna just stand and gawp at me, why don't you sit that gorgeous ass of yours down...or not, because," She said, clicking some buttons with a flourish before spinning around on her chair. "I'm done." She said with an easy smile and he reciprocated in kind, pushing himself off of the doorway to stand up straight.

"We ready to go then Mamma?" He asked with a smile.

"Don't rush Perfection Morgan." She teased with a smile, bending down to pick up her bag and she smirked as she did so knowing she was giving him a very nice view from his vantage point.

"Penelope..." He said, his voice low and filled with warning.

"hmmm sweetness?" She asked with a smile that gave her away as she stood up on a twirl.

"Don't play with me when you know we can't do anything about it until much later." He said lowly and she could see the barely banked flames in his eyes. She shivered at the sight, the man was insatiable. Good thing she was too.

"I wouldn't do such a thing." She said with mock hurt and he couldn't help the smile that rose up his face.

"'Course not." He said with a laugh, slinging his arm over her shoulder as they left her office and headed for the car park before heading off to the nearest Italian restaurant for their bi-monthly team "bonding session" which involved good food, good company and a few drinks as they all relaxed.

As he watched Penelope mesh so perfectly with the team his heart swelled, he was so glad that they had made it through all that they had. With each passing minute that night he knew that tonight was definitely the right time to put the box he had in his pocket to good use.

---

Laying in bed that night with Penelope's head resting on his chest as she admired his grandmother's ring that was now on her finger with a whimsical smile.

"If this is a dream handsome, do not wake me up. Ever." She said seriously and he laughed, bending down to kiss her once more, eliciting a moan from her as he deepened it before pulling back with a smile.

"This isn't a dream, baby."


End file.
